Children’s Magazine Analysis

Media

This double page spread from an Okido magazine uses digital media (images are created on a computer), this is because the colours are all the same, it’s neat and very clear. The initial drawing may have been drawn but the final product wasn’t. I think it’s effective this way because the page is full with images and text leaving not much space for anything else. The page is also colourful and eye catching and because of this the children would want to read more. The illustrations are simple and 2D so simple colours are used with no shading for a 3D effect.

Narrative

The actual narrative used will engage the readers (children) as they themselves have loads imagination so writers for children books have to try and get into their heads and see what they’ll like and be into. The story for this page is about a magic suitcase in which the characters use to travel, the children would want to continue reading to find out what happens as the story is imaginative. It’s a simple story which makes it effective.

Colour

The colour of the page is bright and bold, this makes it very engaging towards children. The illustrator uses a very simple colour palette so all the colours stand out from each other, in addition to this you are able to tell what has been illustrated. The images are clear and detailed enough to demonstrate what is happening within the story. The colours used for the children in the story are to do with their genders making it clearer who’s who. So the girl is in red and the boy is in blue. The texture looks smooth because there isn’t very much detail in the illustrations, and with the simple colour palette, the texture looks smooth.

Composition

The composition and layout of the magazine is simple and clear, this makes it effective as children will need to understand it. So making the layout complicated would make it difficult for the children to read and comprehend. There isn’t many columns, around 2 sometimes 3 (layout grids) in the design of the pages in the magazine. This allows the designers to organise the content for the children effectively and keep it clear for them to be able to read the information.

Typography

The typography of the magazine is simple, clear and fun. All of this is important when choosing or creating the font style for a children’s magazine as the children need to be able to read it and if the text looks fun, it would be more appealing. They could end up interpreting the book as fun learning and in that case children would want to read more books. It could help them want to learn. Using different coloured text or something other than black can also make the text more aesthetically pleasing for children.

The majority of these features are themes that designers try to use within children books, with examples below.